People wearing face masks walk through the quiet streets of the Strathfield suburb of Sydney on August 11, 2021, as the city’s more than five million people are enduring their seventh week under stay-at-home orders. Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images
A Sydney councillor who successfully pushed to strengthen rules requiring English on local busines signs says she was prompted to act after seeing government information displayed exclusively in foreign languages.
Esther Kim, a Korean migrant to Australia, believes one overarching language—English—is essential in bringing communities together.
The motion recognises English as Australia’s common language and calls on state and federal governments to adopt similar signage standards.
Kim told The Epoch Times her motion was driven by a desire to ensure multiculturalism operates under a fair, shared framework that respects all communities in harmony with broader Australian values.
“When I saw public information and advertising by the Australian federal government displayed only in a language other than English, it made me so embarrassed,” she said.
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“What information is that? Why has only one community language been used?
“[Members of] the public who want information and be served should have an opportunity to understand what services they can get, what food they can choose, or what ingredients are in it.”
Strathfield is a highly multicultural local government area in Sydney’s Inner West. According to the 2021 Census, Chinese ancestry was reported by 21.4 percent of residents, Indian by 11 percent, Australian by 8.2 percent, and Nepalese by 6.9 percent.
While Kim strongly values multiculturalism, she said it requires a common foundation which allows all people to communicate with each other.
“Diversity should bring us together, rather than unintentionally creating separate communities that communicate only within themselves,” she said.
The councillor, who clarified her views were her own and not those of the council, said her motion was not about stopping business owners using their own languages on signs.
“What I am proposing is simply that English should also be clearly visible so that information is accessible to the wider community,” she said.
“For me, this is about communication, inclusion, and social cohesion—not exclusion.”
For Kim, a successful multicultural society celebrates cultural differences while maintaining a common link as Australians through a shared language.
“I felt that local government was a good place to start that conversation and establish a sensible and balanced approach,” she said.
Kim’s motion was seconded by Deputy Mayor Sandy Reddy, with Councillors Matthew Blackmore and John-Paul Baladi also voting in favour.
Mayor Benjamin Cai and Councillor Rory Nosworthy opposed the motion.
